Senior B: Churchill were defeated by Ballymac in the League Final on Friday night in Na Gaeil by 1-13 to 0-09. Churchill opened the game brightly and were the dominant team for the first 15 minutes, but struggled to turn possession into scores.
Ballymac to their credit, were much more economical with their possession and led at half time by 0-06 to 0-04. The third quarter was an equally tight affair and there was still only 2 points mid way through the half when Churchill were harshly reduced to 14 men.
Ballymac were able to capitalize on their numerical advantage and scored a late goal to ensure victory. Well done to Ballymac who were very deserving victors and the strongest team that we encountered this season.
Churchill’s young side, with a small sprinkling of experience, can now look forward to the County Championship in a couple of weeks time.
U13 Town League champs.
U13 Town League Final: Churchill took on Kerins O Rahillys in the Town League final at their home venue Healy Park on Thursday evening. We started the brighter with a couple of early scores following some great team play but our opponents battled away and kept the game close.
We led 6 points to 3 with a few minutes to go in the first half but we lost our focus due to a very voiciferous home crowd and allowed 1-3 against us to trail 1-6 to 0-6 at half time.
The referee did his best in a very intimidating environment which resulted in a Kerins O Rahillys mentor being brandished a red card for continuously entering the field of play to remonstrate with the official.
Once we settled down and played to our strengths our superior teamwork came to the fore with Hugh and Cian dominating midfield we improved our supply of ball into our forwards and they kept up their end of the bargain kicking 4-5 in the 2nd half alone.
Every player genuinely played their part in this victory. The standard of foot passing through the lines was a joy to behold and some of our point kicking was a thing of beauty. The essence of this victory was down to fantastic team play rather than trying to depend on 1 or 2 players to carry the day.
The goals from Cian Mason (3) and Gearoid O Connor (1) helped get us over the line but in reality the defending of Paddy & Art in the full back line along with Donagh, Johnny,Billy Walsh and Oran gave us the foundation for this win.
Ronan, Maurice and Oisin in the half forward line worked tirelessly and with Barry, Josh, Gearoid and Billy Doyle spearheading our attack we picked off our scores efficiently to pull away to a deserved 4-11 to 2-9 victory.
Special mention must go to David Chute in goals who gave a kickout exhibition that Stephen Cluxton would have been proud of.
To win a final in an opponent’s home venue shows serious character especially in front of partisan supporters.
The Churchill boys will gain a lot from this experience and the character they showed belied their tender years. A huge thank you also to our fantastic supporters who encouraged our boys especially when we were under pressure in the first half.
Academy: There was a terrific atmosphere in the Spa last week as almost 150 young players between the ages of 6 and 13 took part in the Churchill GAA Cul Camps from Monday to Friday under the watchful eyes of the Cul Camp instructors. Despite the mixed weather the kids had a great week and greatly improved their skills and technique. Academy training continues on Sunday from 11am for our U6, U8 and U10 teams. Don’t forget to bring a drink, €2, boots and gum shield.
